Terius Youngdell Nash, aka The-Dream, is arguably the hottest singer-songwriter in R&B. The 27-year-old Atlanta native penned two of this year's biggest singles: Rihanna's Umbrella and J. Holiday's Bed.

After a stint as a backup vocalist, Nash began writing songs for friends and local talent. His first hit was the R&B ballad Everything, a New Edition-meets-BlackStreet track by pop group B2K. The-Dream soon added songs for Britney Spears, Madonna and Nivea to his resume, eventually hooking up with producer Tricky Stewart to work on Rihanna's third album. Following the success of "Umbrella" and "Bed," Nash signed to Def Jam with a push from music mogul L.A. Reid. He also engaged in a war of words with Chris Brown – the artist for whom "Bed" was originally written – but later apologized for taking their beef to the press.

The-Dream's recent debut, Love Me All Summer, Hate Me All Winter (or LoveHate for short), has already spawned two minor hits: the electric Shawty Is A 10 with Fabolous and the sumptuous Falsetto, both oozing with Nash's signature "ehs" and "oohs." Although LoveHate hasn't blown up on the level of a Rihanna or J. Holiday record, The-Dream isn't standing around, waiting to get his. He's already picked up work with Sting, Nicole Scherzinger, Mary J. Blige and Usher.